THE IMPEDIMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN AFRICAN ECONOMIES IntroductionEconomic integration is an economic agreement between regions characterized by removal or reduct ion or barriers to trade and harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies. The main aim of economic integration is not only to reduce costs for producers and consumers but also to increase the volume of trade among the countries in question. Forms of Economic Integration

The following are the common forms of economic integration;


Preferential Tariffs
In this form of integration, the parties involved levy lower rates of duty on goods

imported from member countries and maintain relatively h igh tariffs to imports from other countries.


Free trade associations
Here, the member states levy no duty on imports from other member countries. Member

states may charge different duty on its imports from other countries. 

Custom Union
In custom unio n, free trade among the member states is protected by a unified schedule of

custom duties levied on imports from other countries. In addition, if there is free mobility o f both labor and capital between member states, the integration is referred to as common market.



Economic Union
This is integration where members states agree to harmonize their economic policies.



Total economic integration
In this form of integration, there is a pursuit of a common economic policy by all polit ical

units from member states.
Examples of Economic Integration in Africa
The following are examples of eco nomic integration in Africa; 

Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which comprise o f the following member states; Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia.

East Africa Community (EAC) whose members include; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Northern Sudan and Djibouti.
Impediments to regional integration
The following are barriers to regional integration in Africa;



Reliance on primary exports
Most of the African countries heavily rely on exportation of primary agricultural products

such a cocoa, copper, coffee and cotton. In addition, Africa’s leading export markets are also the same. Export of similar products creates problems in balance of payments if there is disruption or

slump in the price of the commodities in the world market. This has a negative impact on regional integration efforts.


Mode of production
Most of the African countries rely on capital rather than labor intensive methods of

production. This can be attributed to import substitution strategy embarked by most of these countries after independence. Donges and Heimenz (1991, p.217) argued that this strategy favors production of capital intensive goods, the application of capital-intensive technologies and inefficient capital utilization. Reliance on capital intensive modes of production at the expense of labor intensive countries poses a challenge to developing countries since they are endowed with adequate labor force.



Underdeveloped human resources
According to Stewart (1991, p.426) most people in Africa have been neglected, with poor

education and in imperfect health and under used capacities. This leads to low productivity of labor and lack of competitiveness. As such, this leads to low quality and quantity products produced for trade. African countries need to invest heavily in their labor force development through constant and proper training and research.



Overdependence on developed west
African countries still rely on the west countries for imports of raw material and

manufactured products despite the availability of the same products in member states. High dependence on raw materials...

...Regional Integration
Over the past few decades globalization has brought tremendous benefits to the world, and an even greater reliance on others for products and services. This calls for closer international cooperation to ensure that regional integration is ever more inclusive and works for the benefit of all. There is little doubt that globalization can be a powerful engine for sustained economic growth. Regional economic...

...Degrees of Economic Cooperation Between Various Countries
An important trend that is noticed in international economy has been the growth of intra-regional trade and this type of trade has been fostered by the economic cooperation and integration schemes or trading blocs.
International trade consists broadly of the following namely;
1. intra regional trade
2. inter regional trade
There is also a talk of regionalization vs globalization of...

...Degrees of Economic Cooperation
Meliza Martinez
International Marketing Analysis
Everest University
Degrees of Economic Cooperation
There are many degrees of economic cooperation, ranging from agreement between two or more nations to reductions of barrier to trade, to the full-scale economicintegration of two or more national economies (Keegan, 2002). The marketing implications of trade alliances may include...

...Economicintegration
1
EconomicintegrationEconomicintegration is the unification of economic policies between different states through the partial or full abolition of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade taking place among them prior to their integration. This is meant in turn to lead to lower prices for distributors and consumers with the goal of increasing the...

...﻿1) Give some examples of economicintegration, today and in the past.
Although there exists more than 500 free trade agreements in some shape or from worldwide, I contemplate two of the major ones when addressed with this question. Namely EU and NAFTA.
EU also known as the European Union formerly known as the European Community has a long and rich history that I will not go into detail about here. I will however note that it was a result of two world wars there...

...﻿What Is Regional EconomicIntegration?
Regional economicintegration has enabled countries to focus on issues that are relevant to their stage of development as well as encourage trade between neighbors.
There are four main types of regional economicintegration.
1. Free trade area. This is the most basic form of economic cooperation. Member countries remove all barriers to trade between...

...Economics of Europe 2013
Lecture 2: The economic theory of integration and
the EU customs union in practice
This week we shall be looking at what impact the creation of the EEC/EU
customs union may have had on trade patterns. But first we need to
remind ourselves a little about the economic theory of trade.
Gains from trade
Countries trade with one another either to obtain goods that for some
reason they cannot produce for...